The Buie Knife

Lack of Economical, Comprehensive Health Insurance in U.S. Leads to Medical Tourism, Especially to Turkey

One of the alluring things about going to Turkey is comprehensive health insurance for the family at minimal cost, something that hasn't been available to us recently in the U.S. We're part of a trend. "Americans prefer Turkey for low-cost health services," reports TurkishNY.Com.  USA Today reports on the trend in medical tourism -- Americans going abroad for surgeries and dental care.

Kind of sad, though, that first-world Americans are fleeing to second-world countries for medical care, isn't it?

Will Obama Bring European-style Socialism To America?

In "On Becoming Europe," Victor David Hanson looks at European-style economic "socialist democracy" and finds it wanting, as I suspect I will in my upcoming travels. But he makes the mistake of assuming that Obama wants to bring "socialist democracy" to the United States, which this article by Jacob Weisburg suggests is impossible, out of touch with American history and tradition, and Obama clearly understands that.

Travel As A Spiritual Journey

I'm enjoying "A Guide to Daily Living: The Joy in Loving," quotes from Mother Teresa to meditate on. As I anticipate world travel, I was struck by Mother Teresa's view of travel -- it's one way of showing a hunger for God. Certainly travel gives you a broader perspective, seeing the planet more like God sees it. Travel also helps you discover or reconnect with your own spirituality. As she writes: "Why do people come to India? Because they believe that in India we have a lot of spirituality and this they want to find. Among them are many who come to our house and work with us, in the Home for the Dying. Many of them are completely lost; it is very important that they are guided, that they are led. Why are people going round in circles, just to see the scenery? There is not much point in that -- but there is something more; people are really hungry for God. Travel is one way of showing their hunger." 

'Hurry Up and Wait' for International Work Permit

My wife, son and I had planned to leave North Carolina this month to live and work in Turkey for a year, but there has been a bureaucratic delay in our work permit(s) -- a delay of three to eight weeks. We are told that such delays are routine. Supposedly, once a work contract has been signed, sealed and delivered, there's a six-week waiting period. But we have heard of people getting them in one week. A friend asks if maybe we need to offer some baksheesh. Since the work permits are being handled for us, I'm afraid it's out of our hands and we don't even know who to contact. Knowing the truth of Murphy's Law, as soon as I put money down on an office for another month and get re-involved in work in the states, making new appointments and getting new projects, the work permits will come through. Sigh. 

Ataturk, Passports and US

Alex, Lucia and Ataturk
Originally uploaded by jimbuie3

As we prepare to spend a year in Turkey, my wife, son and I had business to attend to at the Turkish Embassy in Washington. Here's Alex and Lucia with Ataturk, the founder of modern, secular Turkey and a model leader for Islamic nations.

We also picked up our new passports at the State Department. I love the design and the quotes on the new American passports -- makes me proud to be an American and feel like I personally am an ambassador, and that we are all ambassadors for our country. I just did a Google search and some people don't like the newly designed passports, first issued in 2007. Karrie Jacobs on the Marketplace website describes it as "gaudy." She finds the quotes over the top: "What a glorious morning for our country." -- Samuel Adams; "We live in a world that is lit by lightning. So much is changing and will change, but so much endures and transcends time. -- Ronald Reagan. When she travels, she says, she thinks of herself as "the Complex American -- a citizen of the fascinating, nuanced, multicultural, messy and basically decent place I know this country to be. But I feel like this passport blows my cover. It's like suddenly, against my will, I'm wearing ugly khaki shorts and talking way too loud. It's not that I'm unpatriotic. But the need to repeatedly thrust our whole catalogue of national iconography in the face of every customs officer we meet strikes me as kind of gauche. Isn't the gold eagle on the blue leatherette jacket enough of a symbol?"

I don't feel that way. Not yet, at least. I want Alex to memorize the quotes, as I did during my school days.

The Southeast Asia Travel Blog lists the quotes and describes the artistic renderings.

Michael J. Totten Reporting from Iraq: A Model for Other 'Independent' Freelance Journalists, Travel Writers and Bloggers?

As I think about writing, reporting, editing and blogging from abroad (specifically Turkey), I'm looking for models of people who've done it successfully (for money). I've already cited the fine work of Bea Vanni, who coincidentally now lives not far from me in North Carolina. In the spirit of rewarding writers who've provided lots of invaluable information, I've emailed Bea and told her I want to make a donation to her blog, at least equivalent to the cost of a book, if her material were in book form.

Michael J. Totten may be another successful example. His "Middle East Journal" was the 2007 and 2008 Weblog Awards Winner for Best Mideast or Africa Blog. He writes frequently from Iraq, calling himself a "reader-funded foreign correspondent and foreign policy analyst who has reported from the Middle East, the Balkans, and the Caucasus." His work is published in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NY Daily News, and Commentary.

The Allure of International Travel

Thinking about the possibility of upcoming international travel, I recall the most eye-opening, mind-boggling experiences of my life.

There's an old aphorism: "He who doesn't travel thinks his mother's soup is the best." He thinks his own country is best at everything. He also tends to be less open-minded, less creative, a more rigid thinker, less able to negotiate, and more likely to make judgments based on theory and dogma rather than observation and experience. Indeed, a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found a link between open-mindedness, creativity, ability to negotiate, and living abroad.

And yet traveling in countries where you don't know the language or the customs or the money, especially if you're not part of a tour group, can induce very real and approriate anxiety if not fear and disorientation. Suppose I or my loved ones get lost, get robbed or run out of money in a place where no one speaks our language? To overcome such fear takes bravery and to achieve a level of orientation and comfort offers a real sense of accomplishment.

Global Conversation on the Web and by Mobile Phone, With New Translation Tools

New tools: http://translate.google.com

Iphone Gets Translation Application

Language Translation Application for Blackberry

Article: A Web That Speaks Your Language

Have You Been to Stonehenge?

My son Matthew has photos and observations of his recent trip to Stonehenge. I offer memories of my trip. Have you been? Join the discussion.

Where the Hell Is Matt? Illustrating the Magic and Joy of World Travel

My son Matthew travels the world as a sound engineer on cruise ships. He has his own blog, and has become a very good photographer, as evidenced by his FLICKR collection of photos. When I saw this clever video, with evocative music, of Matt Harding dancing around the world, I thought my son could produce a good video of his world travels. Matt Harding's site is www.wherethehellisMatt.com, and worth perusing, as is this video on the joy and magic of world travel: (YouTube.com page). Hat tip to Steven Waldman's Beliefnet blog post, "Why Is This So Inspiring?"

The song, "Stream of Life," was written by Garry Schyman, sung by young Palbasha Siddique in Bengali, and inspired by a poem by Tagore. The English lyrics are as follows, according to this Amazon.com page:

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.